The Loyal Heart by Merry Farmer

rain. Bringing up the rear were two final guards. Aubrey frowned and sighed. It would have been much easier if the prisoner was in back of the passengers. That way they could waylay only half of the caravan. This way they would have to stop the whole thing.
    She glanced across the road at Ethan as the procession passed between them and nodded. As the last guards passed she grasped the hilt of her sword and pushed herself to her hands and knees. She pulled the soaked scarf up over the bottom half of her face and wasted time adjusting it so that it would stay put.
    Jack raised himself to a crouch. “Get in, get out, get home,” he recited. She grinned at him. As she glanced across the road Ethan gave the signal to go.
    Aubrey and Jack shot into action, charging onto the road and rushing the guards at the rear. Aubrey lunged at the one on the right and reached for his belt, grabbing it and pulling as hard as she could. She felt her arms jolt and shudder and was dragged along for several feet before the man gave in to her tugging and tumbled off his horse. Jack already had his man on the ground and was punching him in the face. Aubrey had to use the hilt of her sword against the side of her man’s head to knock him out.
    When she bounced to her feet and turned back to the caravan Ethan and Tom had left their cover and were heading for the guards between the two carriages. Aubrey shot a glance to Jack as he caught up to her. They ran alongside the carriage. Jack hopped on the back while Aubrey sprinted to the front to subdue the driver.
    “What the-”
    Aubrey didn’t give the driver time to finish as she leapt onto his seat. She used the momentum of her jump behind her punch to quiet the man. He was thrown sideways and let go of the reins. He twisted to face her and his eyes wide with fear.
    “You!” he exclaimed, holding up his hands and scooting to the far edge of the seat. “Don’t hurt me! I don’t have anything!”
    Aubrey didn’t have time to bask in the fact that she’d been recognized. She grabbed the rain-slicked reins before they could fall over the lip of the seat and into the mud and pulled hard to stop the horses. The two beasts were more than happy to oblige. She glanced up in time to see Ethan and Tom take out Buxton’s two guards, then rush on to the carriage with the prisoner.
    “Oy! Mate!” Jack’s troubled voice sounded from inside.
    Aubrey turned her back to bend around the side of the carriage. The driver scrambled off the seat, landing with a splat in the mud. He struggled to his feet and ran off. She sighed and jumped down, dashing to the door of the carriage and throwing it open, sword in hand.
    She blinked. In one corner a fat man in brocade with an inordinate amount of rings sat cowering, one arm over his head. At the back of the carriage Jack was pinned to the wall by two nuns in gray habits. They each held one of Jack’s daggers to his throat.
    Aubrey grabbed a handful of habit from the nun closest to her and pulled for all she was worth. The woman let out a shout as she fell backwards and landed with a hard thump half in and half out of the doorway, wimple skewed over her gray hair. The dagger fell out of her hand as she hit the floor. Aubrey yanked her out of the carriage and into the muddy road with a splash. She would apologize to the sister later.
    The other nun turned her head with a gasp, giving Jack the opening he needed to grab her slender wrist and twist it. She dropped the dagger with a cry as he continued to twist her hand until he pinned her arm against her back. “In the name of God, you will not hurt me!” she yelped.
    “Nah, I love nuns!” Jack replied with a grin.
    “How dare you!” The nun let out an indignant shout and stomped hard on his foot.
    Jack cursed in pain and lost his grip on the woman. She darted for the door but he recovered fast enough to catch her as she jumped from the carriage. They both fell into the mud with a wet squelch. Jack regained his